This crochet baby blanket began 2 1/2 years ago on a trip to a nearby city with my daughter-in-law. She was pregnant with my
first grandson so, to make a day of it, we did lunch together and then, of
course, we went shopping! At Michaels, she chose a lovely
aqua-colored, very soft, bulky yarn so that I could make a baby
blanket. (She didn't know that I already had a crocheted baby blanket half finished!)

Completed aqua baby blanket with ruffled edge

Because I was working full-time then, I
never did make that aqua baby blanket. Now she and my son are
pregnant again and I am retired, with time to spend as I choose! So I
designed and made this blanket for the baby (it's a girl this time!) and to share with you!

I'm giving two sets of dimensions: one is without the ruff edging and the other includes it.

Without ruff edging: 31" x 38"

Including ruff edging: 35" x 42"

I didn't use a gauge, but the blanket turned out to be approximately 2 stitches per inch.

Crochet baby blanket materials you'll need

Without ruffled edging

The
yarn is a bulky, knobby yarn from Michael's~Loops and Threads,
Country Loom Baby, color Aqua #09230, 104 yds/95 m. This blanket
required all of 5 skeins and a bulky crochet hook, size N/P (10mm). The actual color is closer to the picture on the top. Sweet!

First, my Oops!

With ruffled edging

You need to know that when
I began crocheting this baby blanket, I was so eager to get started that I forgot to take any pictures! Oops! So,
I re-created the beginning with a plain mauve-colored yarn and took
pics so you can see the details. I am not an expert needlecrafter,
but I have been crocheting for many, many years. All my techniques are
quite simple, but if you're a novice with a big hook and knobby yarn,
you need to know what you're looking at. For instructions on how to
chain, single crochet,double crochet, please see these
YouTube videos.

Directions

I have put the actual
directions in BOLD print. The italic print is my guiding explanation,
as if I were right there with you, sitting beside you, making the
process clear.

Step 1

Chain
(CH) 60 + 3.

Turn
your work, then double crochet (DC) in the 5th chain from the hook.
You have just made the first and second pillars in the row.
Now, CH 1, then DC in the 2nd
chain(see the middle picture; you'll see that the CH1 makes up for
the CH that you skip to make a space). This is your pattern for your
“window” rows.

Continue
to CH1 and DC while skipping a space all across the row.You
should end up with a DC in the last chain.

DC in the 5th CH from the hook

See how the Ch1 corresponds to the skipped stitch to make each "window"

Double Crochet in last chain

Step 2

Turn
your work, CH 3, then DC in the 2nd stitch
of the previous row. This will make a DC pillar in this row
right on top of a DC pillar in the last row. Continue to CH1
and DC while skipping a space all across the row.

Repeat
Step 2 one more time (total: 3 “window” rows).

Step 3

Now
it's time to change your stitch.

Turn
your work, CH1, then SC in every stitch. You should end up
with 60 SC in the row. Do this 8 times for a total of 8 rows of SC.

Steps continued~

Go back to Step 2 and work 3 window rows of DC.

Then go to Step 3 and work 8 SC rows.

Alternate sections of Row 2 and Row 3 until you have 5 bands of Step 2 and 4 bands of Step 3. End with a band of Row 2.

Next
step~Around the edge

Now
you're going to finish the blanket.

Turn
your work, Ch1, and single crochet all around the outside edge of the
whole blanket. In each of the 4 corners, SC 3 stitches instead of
just 1. This is so that your corners will fan out flat
and not bunch up.

When
you get back to start, make a slip loop in the 1st stitch.

Do you wonder...?

How many stitches do you make on the sides of the blanket? Excellent question!

I made one stitch in a SC row and 2 stitches in a double crochet row. See how that works for you. Crocheting a baby blanket can be quite forgiving. Even if you goof, you can often blend it in so that it is not obvious. But remember to make 3 SC in each corner of this edge!

Two options

Now
you have come to two options:

1.
You can finish off your blanket, tuck in your yarn ends, and be
done! Yay! It's beautiful! You have truly done a great job making
this special crochet baby blanket for your special little one!

2.
You can continue to make the ruff around the edge. It will make
the blanket a little larger and add an unusual edging. Don't
worry, it's easy!

Blanket finished with SC edging only

Blanket finished with ruffled edging

(Sorry about the lighting! Same blanket in totally different rooms!)

Final step~Make the ruff

To
make the ruffled edge of the blanket, you will be increasing the
number of stitches on each side of the baby blanket. Here's how:

Ch3,
skip a stitch, Make a DC row all around the blanket like in Step 2
above, BUT in each double crochet pillar, DC, Ch1, DC, Ch1. Then
skip a stitch and do it again, DC, Ch1, DC, Ch1. After going around all four sides, slip loop in the 1st stitch.

At
the corners, I did not increase any more stitches. You can if you
want, but I didn't, and I think it still came out just fine.

Shows the DC, CH, DC in one stitch of edging

Shows the CH between the two DC in one stitch of the edging

Shows the CH after the DC, CH1, DC

All right, now you're ready for the absolutely last row. This is the one that finishes it all off. You're going to learn how to make an easy picot border.

How to make the Picot Border

Shows picot-Cute!

Ch1,
SC in next 3 stitches, make picot in next stitch, SC in next 3 stitches, make picot in next
stitch, SC in next 3 stitches, make picot in next stitch ... This is
your pattern.

Here is how you make a picot stitch:

To
make a picot stitch, SC1,
Ch3, SC1, ALL IN THE SAME STITCH. Do you see how the
Ch3 makes a little bump? That's a picot! Easy peasy, right?

Continue
your pattern all around the edge of the baby blanket. If you find
that your count of 3 SC between each picot stitch isn't a perfect
count at the end of the row, then adjust it to make it fit. No one
will ever notice! If you want your picots to be a little farther
apart, just SC4 or 5 or whatever you decide and make it fit at the
end.

At
the end of this last row, slip loop to finish the row and weave
your yarn end in.

VOILA! You have done it!

This is the most gorgeous blanket you have made!
Bravo for you and for the blessing your blanket will be to the new
parents and their child!

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